Comments and predictions for Sassuolo vs Napoli: Home team struggles unsuccessfully

Latest Sassuolo vs Napoli team information

New signing Kevin De Bruyne is expected to start in midfield for Napoli, while centre-back Sam Beukema will also feature. Up front, towering striker Lorenzo Lucca will replace Lukaku, who suffered a serious thigh injury in the last friendly.

McTominay – a Ballon d'Or nominee – may have to adjust his role to make way for De Bruyne, but his partnership with Anguissa and Lobotka in midfield remains Napoli's backbone.

On Sassuolo’s side, Armand Laurienté – Serie B’s top scorer last season with 18 goals – remains the main hope, despite being linked with a move away from the club. He could join Domenico Berardi and Andrea Pinamonti in a familiar trio.

In goal, new signings Stefano Turati and Arijanet Muric are competing for the starting spot. In addition, defender Sebastian Walukiewicz (from Torino), striker Alieu Fadera (Como) and midfielder Ismael Koné (from Marseille) all played in the win over Catanzaro. Josh Doig – McTominay's Scotland teammate – scored the only goal of the game.

Latest expected lineup Sassuolo vs Napoli

Sassuolo:Turati; Walukiewicz, Cande, Idzes, Doig; Ghion, Boloca, Kone; Berardi, Pinamonti, Lauriente

Napoli:Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Beukema, Olivera; Lobotka, Anguissa; Politano, De Bruyne, McTominay; Lucca

Latest Sassuolo vs Napoli football prediction

Going into the final round of Serie A last season just a point ahead of Inter Milan – who visit Como at the same time on Friday night – Napoli needed a home win over Cagliari to be crowned champions.

Two years after their last title, Napoli won their fourth Scudetto (after 1986-87, 1989-90 and 2022-23 under Luciano Spalletti). Scott McTominay relieved the pressure with a superb strike, before Romelu Lukaku added a second just after the break to seal the decisive victory.

Despite lacking coherence in their playing style, Partenopei still ended the season with 5 wins and 2 draws in the last 7 rounds, conceding only 2 goals, while Inter slumped due to exhaustion.

After becoming the first coach to win Serie A with three different clubs (Inter, Juventus and Napoli), Antonio Conte surprisingly agreed to stay on at the Maradona Stadium after a tense meeting with president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

De Laurentiis has shown his ambition to build a new dynasty in the summer, recruiting a number of stars, most notably Kevin De Bruyne. Napoli have also started the season with three consecutive wins, and they will begin their title defence in Reggio Emilia – where they beat Sassuolo 6-1 on their last visit.

Sassuolo were crushed by Napoli in February 2024, with Victor Osimhen scoring a hat-trick and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring a brace. Although both stars have now left, few believe Sassuolo can end their seven-match winless streak against Napoli.

After being relegated, Sassuolo returned to Serie A the following season by winning the Serie B title, under the guidance of Fabio Grosso – former Lyon coach and 2006 World Cup winner. The Emilia-Romagna team retained many key players and won the top spot with a gap of 6 points over Pisa.

Sassuolo ended their pre-season with draws against Empoli and Brest, before starting the 2025-26 campaign with a 1-0 win over Catanzaro in the Coppa Italia. They won 14 and lost just three of their 19 games at the Mapei last season, but will clearly need to step up their game against defending champions Napoli.

Latest Sassuolo vs Napoli score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Sassuolo vs Napolias follows:

• Sportsmole:Sassuolo 1-2 Napoli

• WhoScore:Sassuolo 0-2 Napoli
• Our newspaper predicts:Sassuolo 1-2 Napoli

When and where to watch Sassuolo vs Napoli live?

To watch the live match Sassuolo vs Napoli in Serie A taking place at 11:30 p.m. on August 23, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.